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Month: April 2018

It’s been a good month but a tough month. A new to us home, in a new country (Mexico), a new language; a death in my family (RIP Uncle Bob), as well as some other unfortunate family drama unfolding, but it’s also been a month of learning.

Thanks to my year long French course years ago courtesy of the military, my foray into learning and speaking Spanish has gone relatively well, and I am relying on Google Translate less and less. It’s been a whole lot of fun interacting with folks from all walks of life and trust me when I say I’ll talk to anyone in their native tongue given the chance. I’m sure the ladies at the panadería in La Comer run when they see me coming.

But this month brought along another challenge I’d never have thought I would face, certainly not at 55 years of age. I was challenged, coerced and near bullied about my chosen path of sobriety, at least that’s how it felt to me at the time, and sadly I know about bullying. It was all a bit surreal when it unfolded over what I thought was going to be a pleasant lunch. Needless to say when my polite rejection of instance that I have just one didn’t work, the individual in question tried to up their game insofar as to let me know I would be a much more relaxed and fun person if I did drink, are you kidding me! I not so politely replied that what they thought of me was none of my concern and it never would be. My life, my rules, because if I thought I could have ‘just one’ I would, but I know just one would be followed by another and another until the bottle was empty and we’d be on to the next.

At the end of the day the only person I must face and account for is myself, and I can’t imagine not having a voice to be heard and be in the position to speak up for myself without having to explain in any detail that which is none of your damn business in the first place.

Don Miguel Ruiz – The Four Agreements; ‘Under any circumstance simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgement, self-abuse, and regret’.